In the late 19th century, animal-shaped crackers called "Animals" were imported from England to the United States. The demand for these crackers grew to the point that bakers began to produce them domestically. Stauffer's Biscuit Company produced their first batch of animal crackers in
York, Pennsylvania, in 1871. Other domestic bakeries, including the Dozier-Weyl Cracker Company of
St. Louis, and the Holmes and Coutts Company of
New York City, were the predecessors of the
National Biscuit Company, today's "Nabisco Brands". Animal biscuit crackers were made and distributed under the National Biscuit Company banner. In 1902, animal crackers officially became known as "Barnum's Animals" and evoked the familiar circus theme of the
Barnum and Bailey Circus. Later in 1902, the now-familiar box was designed for the Christmas season with the innovative idea of attaching a string to hang from the Christmas tree. Until that time, crackers were generally sold only in bulk (the proverbial "cracker barrel") or in large tins. These small cartons, which retailed for 5 cents at the time of their release, were a big hit and are still sold today. The number and variety contained in each box has varied over the years. In total, 53 different animals have been represented by animal crackers since 1902. In its current incarnation, each package contains 22 cookies consisting of a variety of animals. The most recent addition, the
koala, was added in September 2002 after being chosen by consumer votes, beating out the
penguin,
walrus and
cobra. In 1948, the company changed the product name to its current designation of "Barnum's Animals Crackers". In 1958, production methods changed to improve the cookies' visual details. Until then, animal shapes were stamped out of a dough sheet by a cutter. This produced outlines with little sophistication. By installing
rotary dies, bakers can actually engrave details onto each cookie, creating a more intricate design. The rotary dies are still used today. Barnum's Animals Crackers are produced in a bakery at
Fair Lawn, New Jersey, by Nabisco Brands. More than 40 million packages of Barnum's Animals Crackers are sold each year, both in the United States and exported to 17 countries worldwide. The cookies are baked in a traveling band oven. They are in the oven for about four minutes and are baked at the rate of 12,000 per minute. About 15,000 cartons and 330,000 cookies are produced in a single shift, using some of string on the packages. This runs to nearly of string a year. Those bright circus boxes are produced in three colors—red, blue, and yellow—with different variety of animals on each. In August 2018,
Mondelez International (the holding company of Nabisco) released a new design for its Barnum's Animals Crackers boxes in the United States, showing the animals freed from their traditional circus boxcar cages. This design change was made in consultation with
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), one year after the
Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus ceased operations. The new design shows a zebra, lion, elephant, giraffe and gorilla together in an African landscape. ==Varieties==